JACKSON’S MILL, W. Va. — The West Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Hall of Fame Foundation has selected four outstanding individuals for induction in 2013.
These individuals will be honored at the WVAFHF annual banquet at Jackson’s Mill July 20. A reception will begin at 5 p.m., followed by dinner and the induction ceremony at the Jackson’s Mill dining hall at 6 p.m.
Agriculture inductees for 2013 are Patrick D. Bowen, Roger L. Nestor and C. Elwood Williams. Eldon Plaugher will be inducted on the Forestry side.
New members
Patrick D. Bowen started working with Soil Conservation Service/Natural Resources Conservation Service in 1981. During his career, he has been instrumental in obtaining many millions of dollars in financial assistance for landowners and the application of more than 5,000 conservation practices. He has been active in the development of farmland protection programs, working diligently to pass the Farmland Protection Act of 2000 and was instrumental in the formation of the W. Va. Association of Farmland Protection Board.
Roger L. Nestor started working as an agriculture extension agent in Upshur County in 1977, transferred to Barbour County in 1984, and remained there until his retirement in 2012. Nestor has provided untiring service and research to the farmers of the state. For 27 years, he has helped local farmers in their selection of performance-tested bulls and has played an important role in establishing a Barbour County calf pool.
C. Elwood Williams is one of the architects of the modern poultry industry. While working at Pierce Foods in Moorefield, Williams helped to develop “Wing Dings,” which led to wings becoming the most popular appetizer in the nation. He helped design new cookers, batterers and breaders for the plant — designs that are now used throughout the industry.
Eldon R. Plaugher is well-recognized in the forestry industry for his skill and experience as a forester and land surveyor, and has often served as the public face of industrial forestry in West Virginia. During his 35 years with MeadWestVaco, he acquired, managed and sold hundreds of thousands of acres of land. Plaugher also worked for many years on educational programs for teachers and students designed to improve their forestry knowledge.
Visit http://www.wvagriculture.org/WVAFHF/index.htm for complete bios and more information.
FFA achievements
The Tyler Consolidated FFA team, and their advisor, Leon Ammons, will also be recognized at the annual banquet.
The team won first in land judging and home site at the National Land and Range Judging Contest May 2 at Turner Farms in Oklahoma.
More than 700 FFA and 4-H members from 34 states competed in the 62nd annual contest. The WVAFHF Banquet is open to the public.
Tickets are $30 each and must be purchased by July 5. Tickets can be purchased from Hope Goff, W.Va. Forestry Association, 304-372-1955 LeVera Gillum, W.Va. The Farm Bureau, 304-472-2080, ext. 302; Denise Hunnell WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences, 304-293-2395; and Robin Gothard, WVDA, 304-558-3550.
